VILLAGE NEWS
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San Diego Community Newspaper Group
THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2011
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www.SDNEWS.com Volume 15, Number 43
The summer of bees and snakes View from52 SANDY LIPPE It is the summer of B.S. — bees and snakes. And you thought I meant something else. Everyone loves nature shows on television: animals roaming the wild, flying creatures and slithering creatures. Why is it that every curved stick at the park looks like a snake to me? This morning’s trek to Marcy Park in University City found me walking along the edge of the park on woodchips with sticks and branches all resembling snakes. What did I drink last night? Milk. Just milk.
Photos by Paul Hansen | Village News
ONE SCOOP OR TWO? La Jollans and their families got the scoop at the second annual Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social, hosted by the La Jolla Historical Society at Wisteria Cottage on July 16. See the story, Page 7
Beach spectacle of the brown pelicans continues BY MIKE MCCARTHY | VILLAGE NEWS isitors to the San Diego coastline have been treated to an ongoing show starring the brown pelican. The usual sight of two or so flocks of pelicans soaring over places like La Jolla Cove has recently grown to two or so dozen seabirds at one time. Large numbers of brown pelicans have been observed gliding together over the local coastline for several months. Experts in this field appear to have mixed opinions for the reasons behind the large numbers of pelicans off of the San Diego coastline. “There seems to be no real scientific explanation for this phenomena,”
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said Andrew Hughan, public information officer for the California Department of Fish and Game in Sacramento. “At this time, there is no data to support the increased population of brown pelicans in the San Diego region.” Climate changes, the weather and water temperatures are affecting a vast variety of species, including pelicans. Updrafts — created by the wind reflecting off ocean cliffs — provide the ideal conditions for this seabird to glide effortlessly over the water. The California brown pelican can be found from northern Mexico up to the Oregon border. At one time, this seabird was considered an endan-
Observers and experts have noted a growing brown pelican population along San Diego’s coastline, although experts disagree on the reasons behind the seabird’s increased numbers. Mike McCarthy I Village News
gered species because of its declining that that use of pesticides like DDT was taking its toll on the pelican poppopulation. In 2009, the pelican was removed ulation, as well as several other from the endangered list after their numbers recovered. It was discovered SEE PELICANS, Page 7
“Baby king snakes are born alone, breaking out of their shells, and are independent at birth. Many humans never attain this goal.” San Diego is home to many snakes and bees that love to visit those of us on canyons. Rattlers, king snakes, wasps and honeybees hang around our properties. This past July 4, a man on a bench on Catalina Island was entertaining children by letting them pet his two king snakes. Watching the parents of my two grandchildren allow the little ones to pet the snakes was tough. I just couldn’t look. Questions kept coming up in my nervous head: “Who are these two neglectful adults I’ve known and loved for so long or thought I knew? What if the snake bites the girls? Why is a guy sitting on a bench letting children pet the king snakes?” My son’s question was simple: “Why have my girls grown up afraid of snakes like their grandma?” Teeth and
SEE VIEW, Page 3